Starvation-threatened Africans are being encouraged to eat insects by a UK aid initiative.

African caterpillars, migratory locusts and black soldier flies are on the menu under the initiative taking place in Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of Congo - but locals are rejecting the offer due to the taste and cultural norms.

Dr Alberto Fiore, the project lead who has whipped up a dish of locally farmed mopane worms, cereals, and fruits, has also created a insect-based porridge containing grains including sorghum and millets, which he reassured the Guardian is palatable.

  • roastpotatothief
    2·
    2 years ago

    I’ve only tried them once, as a novelty snack. They were fine, crunchy and sour. I definitely wouldn’t choose it over a normal food.

    But every time I’ve read about people making meals with insects (the same kind of endevour as the OP) the flavour is always hidden in a strong sauce.

    What meals/recipes have you tried that were pretty good?

    • Zalamander
      2·
      2 years ago

      There are some big beetle grubs that can be found living inside trees that I tried in the amazon that when fried taste meaty, not too different to chicken. That is my favorite one.

      The rest I have tried in Mexico (where I am from). There is a pink caterpillar called ‘chinicuil’ that tastes similar to the grub but has less meat, so if it is fried in oil you mostly taste the fried skin. The raw chinicuiles do have a very peculiar strong chemical taste that I thinkias unique to them, and eating either of these raw can be unpleasant because you can feel in your mouth how they pop and juices come out. But eating most animals raw is unpleasant anyway.

      Crickets, especially “chapulines” are eaten fried as a snack. Usually we do add spicy powder, but we add that to everything. They are also ground and mixed into salsas.

      We eat ant eggs. You can look up “escamoles”. They are very good but also seasonal and expensive.

      Edit: Found a delicious-looking image of the grubs: https://img.atlasobscura.com/SBUrJMe6IZGYIcWPxhTnCJJ_6ugThLBpjPDKZFlK-qM/rs:fill:580:580:1/g:ce/c:644:644:nowe:264:174/q:81/sm:1/scp:1/ar:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9hdGxh/cy1kZXYuczMuYW1h/em9uYXdzLmNvbS91/cGxvYWRzL3RoaW5n/X2ltYWdlcy9iODgx/ZDBjYmEyOTViMmJj/ZjBfU3VyaV9tb3Rv/cGVydS5qcGc.jpg

      • roastpotatothief
        2·
        2 years ago

        That all sounds delicious. I’ll have to wait til somebody imports these culinary techniques to Europe. I guess our insects are probably just as good if prepared right.

        I guess this food is very cheap, so it could be a much tastier alternative to the tofu- and corn syrup-based economy that’s providing for Europe’s food-poor.